Wood tracking by identification of surface characteristics
First Claim
1. A method for tracking multiple pieces of wood, each piece of wood having multiple surfaces and at least an end surface, comprising:
- obtaining first inherent wood characteristic information from at least a first portion of at least a first surface of each of the multiple pieces of wood as they move through a first station, the multiple pieces of wood including a first piece of wood, and the first portion including a first area that is at least one foot away from the end surface;
converting at least some of the first inherent wood characteristic information concerning the first area for each of the multiple pieces of wood into respective first data packets;
obtaining second inherent wood characteristic information from at least the first area of each of the multiple pieces of wood, including the first piece of wood, as they move through a second station;
converting at least some of the second inherent wood characteristic information for the multiple pieces of wood into respective second data packets; and
comparing a second data packet to a first data packet of the first piece of wood to make a first evaluation of similarity between the first and second data packets.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A “Woodprint™” characterization and identification technique employs cameras (16), lighting (14), camera interface hardware (18), a computer (20), and/or image processing software to collect and analyze surface characteristics of pieces of wood (8) to track them through an automated production process in real-time with information that is specific to each wood piece (8), such as what machining is required, its value, and/or its destination. When a wood piece (8) reaches a point in the production process where a decision is required, its unique identity is used to retrieve appropriate information previously determined and assigned to the wood piece (8).
100 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for tracking multiple pieces of wood, each piece of wood having multiple surfaces and at least an end surface, comprising:
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obtaining first inherent wood characteristic information from at least a first portion of at least a first surface of each of the multiple pieces of wood as they move through a first station, the multiple pieces of wood including a first piece of wood, and the first portion including a first area that is at least one foot away from the end surface;
converting at least some of the first inherent wood characteristic information concerning the first area for each of the multiple pieces of wood into respective first data packets;
obtaining second inherent wood characteristic information from at least the first area of each of the multiple pieces of wood, including the first piece of wood, as they move through a second station;
converting at least some of the second inherent wood characteristic information for the multiple pieces of wood into respective second data packets; and
comparing a second data packet to a first data packet of the first piece of wood to make a first evaluation of similarity between the first and second data packets. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method for tracking multiple pieces of wood, each piece of wood having multiple surfaces and at least an end surface, comprising:
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obtaining first inherent wood characteristic information from at least a first portion of at least a first surface of each of the multiple pieces of wood as they move through a first station, the multiple pieces of wood including a first piece of wood, and the first portion including a first area;
obtaining third inherent wood characteristic information from at least a second portion of at least the first surface of each of the multiple pieces of wood as they move through the first station, the second portion including a second area that is distinct from the first area;
converting at least some of the first inherent wood characteristic information concerning the first area for each of the multiple pieces of wood into respective first data packets;
converting at least some of the third inherent wood characteristic information concerning the second area for each of the multiple pieces of wood into respective third data packets;
obtaining second inherent wood characteristic information from at least the first area of each of the multiple pieces of wood, including the first piece of wood, as they move through a second station;
obtaining fourth inherent wood characteristic information from at least the second area of each of the multiple pieces of wood as they move through the second station;
converting at least some of the second inherent wood characteristic information for the multiple pieces of wood into respective second data packets;
converting at least some of the fourth inherent wood characteristic information for the multiple pieces of wood into respective fourth data packets;
comparing a second data packet to a first data packet of the first piece of wood to make a first evaluation of similarity between the first and second data packets;
comparing a fourth data packet to a third data packet of the first piece of wood to make a second evaluation of similarity between the third and fourth data packets; and
using the first and second evaluations to determine whether a given piece of wood that has traveled through the second station is the first piece of wood. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for tracking multiple pieces of wood, each piece of wood having multiple surfaces, comprising:
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moving multiple pieces of wood in a first direction of travel through a first station in a manner that permits the multiple pieces of wood to move in a direction transverse to the first direction of travel;
obtaining first inherent wood characteristic information from at least a first portion of at least a first surface of each of the multiple pieces of wood as they move through the first station, the multiple pieces of wood including a first piece of wood;
converting at least some of the first inherent wood characteristic information concerning the first portion for each of the multiple pieces of wood into respective first data packets;
obtaining second inherent wood characteristic information from at least the first portion of each of the multiple pieces of wood, including the first piece of wood, as they move through a second station;
converting at least some of the second inherent wood characteristic information for the multiple pieces of wood into respective second data packets; and
comparing a second data packet to a first data packet of the first piece of wood to make a first evaluation of similarity between the first and second data packets. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification